A Sitka man who was charged with evidence tampering after his daughter killed a cyclist in a hit-and-run won’t stand trial. The state’s case against Richard Mulligan was dismissed earlier this month after a Superior Court judge threw out improperly collected evidence against him.
In March of 2021, his daughter Brooke Mulligan was driving on Halibut Point Road, when she struck a bicyclist, 20-year-old Terry Carlson Jr., with her car. Carlson later died of his injuries. Brooke Mulligan was indicted on manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges, and her father Richard was indicted for allegedly attempting to cover up his daughter’s crimes.
Brooke Mulligan pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and was sentenced to four years in prison in March. A civil case against her is pending.
On April 10, Judge Trevor Stephens issued a court order which found that Sitka Police violated Richard Mulligan’s right to remain silent while executing a search warrant on March 10 of 2021. Judge Stephens wrote that because police continued to interrogate Mulligan after he invoked his Miranda Rights, the information they gathered during their questioning, including some evidence they collected, should be suppressed. On April 14, in light of Stephens’ order, state prosecutors dropped all charges against Mulligan and dismissed the case, without prejudice.
